Croatia are slight favourites for the tie which gets underway on Friday.
Croatia have been lucky enough to get a third home tie in a row and they have gone with the same indoor clay surface which helped them edge past Chile and the United States.
Ivo Karlovic gets proceedings underway against Radek Stepanek. Karlovic was the thorn in the side of the United States in the summer, scoring a crucial five set win over James Blake on day one and he’s very hard to face on the high bouncing indoor surface, something Stepanek acknowledged. “Playing Karlovic is always strange and tricky, you get no rhythm. You have few chances and you have to try and take them once they come because there are not many. There will not be much rallies so it’s important to focus all the time,” the Czech said.
Stepanek leads 2-0 on head-to-heads but they haven’t played since 2005. However he likes the clay and has shown some good form over the summer, making the fourth round of the US Open before losing to Djokovic. He looks like a good pick to get the Czechs off to the perfect start at 8/13 with bet365.
Croatia’s hopes rest on Marin Cilic, the 20 year old in the form of his life after his run to the US Open quarter-finals. Cilic is also particularly at home on clay having made the last sixteen at Roland Garros this year. It should be a close match (and potentially decisive in the context of the tie) against Tomas Berdych in the second rubber on Friday. Berdych has been solid in the slams as ever but hasn’t made it past the fourth round this year. However he did pick up a title on the slow clay of Munich.
At 4/9 with bet365, Cilic is favourite and probably a wise bet given his current form. Only a week ago he looked like defeating Juan Martin Del Potro for a set and a half of their quarter-final.
Cilic was looking to take some of the pressure off himself in Thursday’s press conference, saying that he regards himself and Karlovic as dual leaders of the team. “I am still young and wouldn’t want to put that weight on myself as being the leader. I don’t feel that way. We have a great team and giving our best in Davis Cup. I am going to enjoy this tie as the ones before.”
Day 1 odds (bet365):
Ivo Karlovic (6/5) vs Radek Stepanek (8/13)
Marin Cilic (4/9) vs Tomas Berdych (13/8)
